


The Melted Water Can Harden Again

by ReasonPapers



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 08:40:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16472291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReasonPapers/pseuds/ReasonPapers
Summary: Bellatrix Black is distracted from her infatuation with her sister when her advanced studies couple her with a witch her equal-- Molly Prewett.





	The Melted Water Can Harden Again

**Author's Note:**

> I'm consolidating some fics here on AO3. This was a 2011 fic posted for femmefest in response to a prompt. Enjoy! I still love the idea of a history between these two.

Narcissa had been leaning against the corner at the corridor, and Bella felt a knot in her stomach when her little sister caught her eye. Narcissa, with her impossibly long legs and impossibly tiny waist and impossibly blonde hair, she swept up to Bella, her wide grey eyes eager and searching. “So… did you get it?”

Bella’s eyes narrowed and fell to the ground. “No.”

“No?!” Narcissa cried. “That’s preposterous! You got an ‘E’ on your Defense Against the Dark Arts NEWT last year when everyone else in your class was taking their OWLs. What could you possibly gain from sitting in some stuffy class another year?”

“I don’t have to go to the class, but Professor Vordran rejected my independent study. He doesn’t trust me.”

“What’s not to trust, sister darling?” Narcissa grinned wickedly, squeezing her sister’s hand. “I guess we have to be honest, requesting unlimited access to the restricted section of the library doesn’t exactly make you look like an innocent scholar.” She gave a little smirk, and Bella quickly glanced away, her concentration on her sister’s statuesque jawline disrupted.

“Apparently Vordran surmised as much. But he gave me an alternative.”

“Which is?”

“Another student had an independent study approved. Vordran gave me permission to join onto that—or stay in class and try not to fall asleep.”

“Well… that’s something at least. Who else would have applied for independent study, though?”

“Do you know Molly Prewett?”

~ ~ ~

Three PM was a bad time for an independent study. Bella never ate lunch, and this time of the day was perched exactly between lunch and dinner, exactly when she would inevitably start to have trouble concentrating. She gritted her teeth and pulled out the little container of cherries that she saved for the afternoon. She popped one into her mouth and felt it icy cold against her tongue. The chill grounded her, and she knew she would be able to make it through to dinner, though she hadn’t yet decided whether or not she would make it through her first day of independent study with Molly Prewett.

Narcissa told her that Lucius had said it was a good idea. Prat that he was, Bella had to agree. Besides, Molly was a pureblood. Her family might be… unrefined, but her blood would surely count for something. Bella was depending on it.

By the time the door swung open, Bella was on her third cherry and goosebumps had risen up and down her arms, even with her school robes on.

“I am so sorry!” a winded looking Molly Prewett exclaimed. “We might have to make it at 3:15 instead of 3. We’ve got a squirelly group of first-years this year, and I’m supposed to escort them to the greenhouse for Herbology, but there’s no way I can get them there and make it back here by 3. Is it okay with you to do 3:15?”

Bella felt a little light-headed, and more than a little irritable. She had opened her jaw to snap at Molly’s tardiness but bit her tongue. She had to make this work. 

“3:15 is fine.”

“That’s great. Listen, I don’t want you to feel like we’ve lost time today. I had no idea how advanced you were with Defense Against the Dark Arts—I mean, no offense. Anyway, Professor Vordran told me you would be joining me, and he seemed hesitant at first to be letting us study together, but I think he must be completely daft. I mean, sitting in a class I could practically teach is one thing, but studying advanced DADA alone. Come on. You don’t learn to cook by reading cookbooks, do you?” Molly let out a raucous laugh.

Bella tried to give a polite smile. It looked to her like however Molly had learned to cook she had not been informed that sugar and butter were meant to be used sparingly. It wasn’t that she was outright fat—but she looked like the kind of woman her mother would have said just “let herself go.” Molly didn’t seem the least bit self-conscious, however. In fact, she went right along talking quickly and animatedly, barely taking stock of Bella at all.

“Anyway, here’s the syllabus I composed for myself. You can see where I went back to edit it a bit because if there are the two of us we might be able to actually practice combative witchcraft. Not that I want to do anything dangerous! But, there are a couple of books we can get out that I think will be really helpful. I mean, they’re in the restricted section, but I’m sure if we just explain to Vordran it will be fine.”

Bella’s ears perked up. “What kinds of books did you have in mind?”

“Well, I’ve found a couple. I thought we could start with Dark Starts. It used to be used in Hogwarts a long time ago, it manages to be ridiculously cheesy even though it has dark spells in it--really simple ones is all. The intention was to give students something to defend themselves against, but… it just ended up being a starting point for a lot of people getting in with the wrong crowd… you know what I mean?”

Molly’s eyes seemed to pierce through her just then. Bella panicked for a moment and then stuffed a cherry into her mouth. “Yeah, definitely,” she replied abruptly. “But if we wanted to use them for starting combat, I mean, it would be pretty harmless.”

“What kind of cherries are those?”

“Nothing,” Bella snapped, immediately feeling like a complete idiot. ‘Nothing?’ Really? That was the best she could do? She fumbled to collect herself, but Molly moved on before she could say anything else. 

“Yeah, well, nevermind. I just… maybe we could get approval for a few books and figure out where we want to start. I reckon if we start with a few spells and jinxes, we can start some simple combat, and then maybe give up breadth in favour of depth and maybe work on some more serious stuff.”

Bella read through Molly’s tidy list of spells, possible defenses—including even some experimental defenses—and desired outcomes. It was clear from the objectives she’d included in each section that with ‘more serious stuff,’ she wasn’t toying around.

“This is really ambitious, Molly.”

Molly’s whole face turned red. “I think the work we’re doing is really important, and I don’t want to do some joke of an independent study. If you think I’m overshooting the mark here—“

“Molly,” Bella interrupted. “I’m a Slytherin. I like ambitious.”

~ ~ ~

Ordinarily by the time Bella made it to dinner, she was exhausted. As much as she tried to savour the ache in her muscles and the lightness in her head, the aromas in the Great Hall always overcame her defenses. It made her feel guilty, but also the tiniest bit grateful. On this particular day, almost a month after classes had started, Bella arrived halfway through the meal, jittery with excitement. Her hands trembled more from adrenaline than hunger, and it wasn’t until she picked out a head of silvery hair in the crowd and slid down in a seat next to her sister that she began to sober from the rush of the previous few hours.

“Bella!” Narcissa practically squealed. Her little sister gave her a delighted one-armed squeeze that made Bella grin dumbly in spite of herself. “I thought you were going to miss dinner! Here, I saved you a plate.” She pushed a half-full plate of greens towards Bella, who looked looked longingly at the bread and the potatoes before clenching her fists once and digging into her salad.

“Thanks, Cissy,” Bella said.

“Where have you been?”

“Practicing with Molly. Completely lost track of time.”

“Has she gotten you into the restricted section?”

“Sometimes. It almost doesn’t matter right now. I’ve never felt matched in combat before, never felt challenged by spells, but the stuff we’re learning now… it’s serious.”

“I guess Prewett isn’t the goody-two shoes we expected, huh?” Narcissa asked.

“She’s a piece of work. Is she a country bumpkin dipped in sugar? Yes, pretty much. But don’t underestimate her. She’s ambitious, and she’s fearless. She’s the kind of person we want on our team.”

“Our team?” Andy prompted. 

“Andy!” Bella gave a little jolt, only just recognizing that her other sister was there. “Don’t act so bloody naïve. There’s a lot of unrest right now, and when we’re done with Hogwarts, we’re going to have to start taking sides. I feel prepared for that. What Molly and I are studying, practicing—it’s the kind of combat that’s going to be useful for when we graduate.”

“I hate to think of the occasions when you will need combat after we graduate,” Andromeda said bleakly.

“You should listen to your sister, Andy,” Narcissa cut in. “Although personally, I hate to think of the occasions when you will need muggle studies after we graduate.”

“Very funny,” Andromeda said, rolling her eyes.

Bellatrix took another bite of her salad, peering out of the corner of her eye at Narcissa as she giggled. No one would ever guess by looking at Bella or Andy that the Black girls had veela blood in them. Looking at Narcissa, though, it was hard not to see it. When she shook her hair back behind her shoulder it fell as smooth and glossy as a million streams of silver. Her skin was almost as white as her teeth, completely flawless… apart from a flowering of blood vessels on her neck, glaring like a streak of wine on alabaster.

“Narcissa!” Bellatrix hissed. “What the hell is this?” She touched her sister’s neck as one touches a treasured object.

“It’s nothing,” Narcissa blushed, hunkering down and giggling again.

“Bullshit,” Bellatrix spat, recoiling from the bruise with venom in her voice and eyes alike. “Who did this to you?”

“Bella, relax,” Andy said, raising her eyebrow from across the table in between bites of a pumpkin pasty. “Who do you think?” Narcissa pulled her hair back over her neck and peered from behind it mischievously.

Bella felt a surge of something she didn’t want to name. She felt it flush her neck and come to rest between her legs, then settle in her gut.

“Hey,” Narcissa said, leaning her narrow frame against Bella’s nearest arm, “I don’t want you to be jealous.” Bella stared at her disbelievingly, appalled at the name she had put on the feeling, appalled that her sister could say it out loud what she had never wanted to name herself. “I don’t want you to be mad at me just because I’m the youngest. I know there are a ton of boys that would want to go out with you.”

Bella put down her fork. “I’m not hungry,” she said, rising. She heard Narcissa start to protest, and Andromeda start to nag, but tried to listen instead to the rhythm of her own heartbeat, thumping hollowly inside her empty body. 'Desire, desire, deep down inside of me,' she tried to imagine her own voice singing, 'you are not the maker nor the master of me…' She repeated the words as she marched through the halls, through the dungeons and the Slytherin common room, until she finally made it into her bed. She closed her eyes and treated the words like a lullaby.

Hours later, when she felt her sister’s weight on the edge of her bed as she bent down to give her a gentle kiss goodnight, it still hurt.

~ ~ ~

The last time they had dismissed themselves from their study, Bella had said she was worried they were becoming complacent with each other. Molly had to agree. They had learned how the other fought, which was admittedly a benefit in some ways—when one repeatedly capitalized on a weakness in the other, the weakness did not remain so for long. They had fortified each other to equality in most aspects of their practice. 

“It’s not enough,” Bella said. “Some day there will be surprises. We have to start thinking about how to prepare for those.” Of course what Bella meant was that it was over halfway through the year, and high time that they start delving deeply and seriously into the dark arts. Molly, however, understood Bella’s pronouncement differently.

She crept down the hall and peeked through the keyhole. Bella was eating a cherry and reading through the syllabus leisurely. Molly crept out from behind the door, and brought out her wand—surely, that was fair enough warning. She couldn’t completely spoil the surprise, after all. “Silencio,” she said plaintively.

Bella looked up, her mouth open in surprise, barely reaching for her wand when the spell jetted into her mouth, and sealed her lips together.

“Oh, you were right, we do need to be better prepared for surprises,” Molly laughed. “You’re just lucky I’m one of the good guys… or… am I?” Molly smiled devilishly, then bolted towards Bella, who tripped out of her chair, wailing almost noiselessly. Molly met her on the floor, and dug her fingers into Bella’s ribs, surprised at how little flesh there was to cover them, even beneath her uniform. Bella kicked helplessly as Molly moved her fingers beneath Bella’s arms and tickled her without abandon. “Honestly,” Molly said with mock pride, “I think we’re onto something. This could very well be more disabling than Crucio.”

Then she saw the tears start to trickle from the corner of Bella’s eyes, and her playful mood was swallowed up by guilt and concern. “Oh no, Bella,” she said, flicking her wrist to undo the jinx, “I’m sorry—I just—we talked about being prepared for surprises and then I thought, gods, we’re always so bloody serious—are you hurt?”

Bella wiping her tears away looking furious. For a split second she wanted to bring out her wand and shout ‘Crucio’ just to see if it could hurt any more than she hurt already. “I always feel like that,” she whispered.

“Like what?”

“Like I’m screaming with my mouth shut.”

Molly waited a long time before moving or speaking. “Bella,” she finally said, kneeling next to the dark haired girl and pulling out a handkerchief to dry her eyes, “you’re not your sister.”

Bella snatched the handkerchief away, and then threw it into Molly’s lap. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I know about the cherries you eat all day long. They’re not cherries. They’re charmed.”

“They’re a snack, you idiot.”

“They’re ice. It’s a clever spell, but you can tell if you look closely. That and they melt.”

Bella glared at her and tried to figure out how to defend herself, but the words wouldn’t come.

“Bella, you’re not built like Narcissa. Your body is different. That’s okay. Look, you eat a bowl of cherries for breakfast, you never eat lunch, you snack on cherries, and lately you barely eat dinner. Your body isn’t happy. You’re not happy. You can’t keep doing this.”

“I can,” Bella smiled with sad persistence.

“You are a person worth loving, Bella, and the body that comes with it is worth loving, too.”

Bella crumpled her body against Molly’s and closed her eyes. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

“Of course,” she said, running her fingers soothingly through Bella’s hair.

“Oh, Molly,” Bella murmured with her face buried against Molly’s neck, “you smell like gingerbread.”

Molly gave a kind smile. “And you smell like ice. Tell you what… let’s be naughty. Let’s skip class and go raid the gingerbread stash in my room.”

“You hide gingerbread in your room?”

“Now you know one of my secrets, too,” Molly winked.

They snuck out of the room, leaving behind only a bowl of melted ice, forgotten but not gone.

~ ~ ~

“Every day this week it’s been in The Daily Prophet,” Lucius drawled. “I’ve even arranged to speak with Riddle myself.”

“Lord Voldemort, Lucius,” Narcissa corrected him. “Clearly the man is pretty keen on himself,” she said sarcastically. Andy rolled her eyes.

“Watch was you say, Narcissa,” Lucius said warningly, tightening his hand around her shoulder protectively. Bellatrix looked away. “He’s got a plan. A plan that includes putting us in our rightful place. He takes this business absolutely seriously. It would be in our best interest to follow his lead, and earn a place in his ranks before everyone wants a seat at his table.”

“What do you think, Bella?” Narcissa asked. Bella felt a twinge in her chest and tried to ignore it.

“I’ve already met with Voldemort,” Bella said. Lucius let out a little gasp.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

Bella’s lips curled upwards. “I wanted to see where you stood before I said anything. When we leave Hogwarts, I’m ready to follow him. He has a vision that champions purity and excellence. He is also strong and talented enough to trample anyone who defies him. What Voldemort cannot win by might he will take through fear, and I intend to stand by him on both counts.”

“I think this is a mistake. Do you have any idea the danger you are putting yourself in?" Andromeda stepped in. “This won’t be advanced combat practice. Riddle wants to kill people.”

“People who aren’t worthy,” Lucius nodded.

“Bella,” Narcissa asked somewhat meekly, “you don’t have any doubts about this?”

Bella ran her hand absently through her own dark hair. “No. None at all.”

~ ~ ~

“Expelliarmus!” Bella practically screamed.

Molly’s wand flew out of her hand and she collapsed to the ground, struggling to catch her breath. “That was insane,” Molly breathed. “Your combinations—one—two—six—insane. That was fair, though, well-won. You got me.” She surrendered a smile.

“You can’t smile about this, Molly. This is getting serious. We are the best practice each other has, and practice can’t last forever.”

Molly paused. “Okay,” she said with some concern. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“Our defense is only as strong as our strongest spells.”

“I completely disagree with that philosophy! I think we’ve proven that vigilance, preparedness, combinations, spontaneity—“

“Yeah, Molly, I know, but it’s not enough. Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.”

“Bella, this isn’t quidditch.”

“I got a list of books. They’re in the restricted section, and frankly, they probably shouldn’t even be at school. They cover some of the most effective dark spells ever to be used in combat.”

“I don’t like the way you’re using the word ‘effective,’ but I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Do you want to figure out how to defend ourselves against these spells?”

Bella didn’t say anything.

“Who told you about these books, Bella?”

The truth fell into the air. “Tom Riddle. Lord Voldemort.”

Molly picked up her wand. “I have heard entirely too much of that name lately. Don’t tell me—“

“You have nothing to fear, Molly. You’re a pureblood witch. More than that, you’re probably the most skilled witch in our year. Think of the possibilities if you sided with the strengths of Voldemort!”

“Madness. I don’t want to kill people. I especially don’t want to kill the friends I have who aren’t pureblood.”

“It might not come to that,” Bella ventured.

“It absolutely will. In fact, that’s what Riddle wants. What’s more, he wants his followers to submit to him. Submit! Don’t give yourself away, Bella. You aren’t that kind of person, please, don’t be that kind of person.”

Bella hesitated, her throat constricting. It wasn’t supposed to be this way, but she felt like a fool for imagining that it could be any different. Looking into Molly’s eyes, she felt a familiar flush. She saw both paths stretch before her, both equally hopeless—but here was Molly, pleading with those kind eyes that had already convinced her once that she was worth fighting for.

“Okay,” Bella said.

Molly stared at her incredulously and raised her wand. “Okay? Like it’s that simple? I don’t believe you. How much have you lied to me already?”

“Molly, please—I said okay.” Her voice began to shake. “I won’t do it, Molly, I promise.”

Molly studied her face. “Then make an unbreakable vow.”

Bella closed her eyes and swallowed hard. “Okay.”

“And promise that you won’t do this. Promise you won’t join Riddle.”

Bella held Molly's fervent gaze, studying the emotions stirring beneath her kind yes. Bella looked down at her wand with a shaky breath and tried to concentrate. It seemed impossible, but then from her wand crept a smoky golden chain. It wound around Molly’s wrist and back to her own, enclosing their hands together. The glow lit Molly’s face and her hair blazed in the light. Bella realized in that moment that Molly was beautiful, and that already too many mistakes had been made.

“This is all wrong,” Bella choked.

“No,” Molly begged.

“We don’t even have a secret keeper—“

“We can keep each others’ secrets.”

“I was supposed to say the words first.”

“Just say them now!” Molly bit back tears, and Bella stood there silently.

“I can’t. I’m sorry, Molly, I can’t.” Molly tried to wrench her arm away, but the chain held. “Please, Molly, please, just listen. You’ve changed me Molly. I—I think I love you.”

“You can’t love me as much as you think if this is what you’re choosing.”

Bella pulled her arm tightly to her chest and Molly was swept against her by their bound hands. With her free hand, she clutched at Molly’s hair and pulled her into a furious, desperate kiss.

She pressed her hands against Molly’s body, wishing that there was some kind of magic that could keep them safe in this room forever, dimly aware that if there had been magic between them, she was choosing to squander it. She fumbled at the buttons of Molly’s blouse, of Molly’s skirt, knowing that inasmuch as she believed she was choosing self-preservation, that that had never been her strong point. She tried to move the hand that was bound to Molly’s between the red-head's legs, and as Molly’s hand resisted, trying to push her away still, Bellatrix had to accept that no option was easy, but that staying would only destroy them both.

She began to cry, then, for everything about her seemed futile, seemed a bloody shame. 

Then the hands that fought between her body and Molly’s reached up to Bella’s face and wiped away the tears, in a movement nostalgic and final. “I’m sorry,” Bella murmured as they tumbled to the floor. She reached again between Molly’s legs, and this time Molly gripped her hand but did not push her away.

“We shouldn’t do this,” Molly whispered, “We shouldn’t do this,” as she thrust forward to grind against Bella’s body. Bella felt Molly’s fingernails dig into her wrist when Bella was able to slide her hand beneath the fabric, felt her resistance dissolve when she run her fingers up and down the slick wetness until Bella could feel her body begin to shudder, silencing her words only at the moment she came against Bella’s hand.

Bella had expected Molly to relax, spent, against her body, but she didn't. Instead she wrestled Bella onto her back almost immediately, pressing her leg between Bella’s, stretching Bella’s arms away from her. “We could get up from here, you know,” Molly said. “We could go back to my room and spend the rest of the night doing this. It’s not too late. But please, you have to promise me.” Bella said nothing, aching for everything she lost and all the things she’d never really had. 

“I don’t want to hurt you. Promise me.”

She brought her hand, still laced to Bella’s, down the dark-haired girl’s back and stomach, and beneath the elastic of her waistband. She placed a gentle kiss on the flesh that was beginning to fill out Bella’s body and trailed a little further with her hand. Molly could feel Bella’s wetness before she even came near her slick skin, and Bella let out a little whimper. Molly kissed her again, for the last time. “I want to feel you inside me, Molly,” Bella moaned.

Carefully, Molly moved one finger towards the warmest heat pulsing from Bella’s body. Bella arched her back. “I need to feel you, Molly,” she urged, “More.” Molly moved another finger, and then another, until Bella could feel the sting of four fingers stretching inside her. At Bella’s commands the kisses turned to bites and the caresses to scratches. When the thrusting of Molly’s hands was not enough, Bella ripped so hard against the chain that bound her wrist to Molly’s that even Molly’s hand began to hurt from the force of slamming into Bella’s body. 

Bella felt the pain mount more than she felt anything else. 'Let my pain and my pleasure all be one,' she thought as felt her insides seize up and finally release, as she felt herself inducted into a life that there would be no turning back from. It was silent.

“I don’t know how to undo this,” Bella said.

Molly took a deep breath. She found her wand where it had fallen, and with a flick of her wrist, the chain had coiled into her wand and released its hold on both of them.

“I don’t think you can undo this, Bellatrix.” And Molly left.

Bellatrix stood, feeling bruised and achey, battered before a battle began. Every feeling of pain she tried to meld into satisfaction at her own crude survival, choosing to let her life become empty again, and trying to find pride in the distance that she’d always kept between her life and any that she had dared to imagine.


End file.
